Igo Rab is a middle grade fantasy author currently based in Leicestershire with his wife and two children. Born and raised in the West of Ireland, Rab was immersed in the world and history of W. B. Yeats that has inspired his writing.  

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Welcome to the Hive, Igo. Let’s start with the basics: tell us about Faery: The Tiend – what can readers expect?

In short, readers can expect adventure. The story starts with our main protagonist, Milo. A young boy who’s longing for adventure. His whole world changes when he meets a Faery called Asrai and, from this point on, the pace of the book builds and builds into a rollercoaster of adventure. Milo soon learns the real reason why Asrai drew him to the faery world. The time of the tiend (sacrifice) is nigh and Milo finds himself fighting for his very existence.

Tell us a little something about your writing process – do you have a certain method? Do you find music helps? Give us a glimpse into your world!

I’m a planner, I tend to lay out a rough baseline of what I think the story might look like first. From there I start to write, I definitely find music helpful. The interesting thing is there’s never one set type of music that helps, I can go from listening to traditional celtic music, to sombre classical music and even to listening to soundtracks from certain films during the course of the same story. It really depends on what sort of scenes I am writing at the time. The first draft is never particularly smooth but for me it is all about getting the story down, the story then evolves over many further drafts until I am happy it is as it can be. 

Speaking of worlds, what inspires your worldbuilding? Do you have a magic system/s? If so, can you tell us a bit about it?  

The inspiration for this world came from the poem ‘The Stolen Child’ by WB Yeats. I grew up close to a Norman tower that Yeats lived in for a time so I have been familiar with his work. The Stolen Child has always been a favourite of mine, it beautifully portrays a dark but yet exciting sense of adventure and I wanted to create a work that mirrored that. I also wanted to change that classic stereotypical view of the fairies at the end of your garden. I was determined to create a world that showed them as a civilisation that was not unlike humans in some ways but very different in others and, most of all, they have a dark past and a foreboding secret. 

There is magic in the story but, as we are viewing this all through Milo’s eyes, it is soft and irrational magic. Milo can see that it is being used and can feel the effects of it but he doesn’t understand it and sees different faeries using different types of magic. I kept it that way as I wanted Milo not to understand it and make things a little more mysterious. 

If you were transported into your own fictional world, how would you fare?

I don’t imagine I would do very well. Age has certainly caught up with me and I am no longer the keen sports person I once was.  You need to be fit to fight or run at a moment’s notice in the faery world. 

Can you tell us a bit more about your characters? Do you have a favourite type of character you enjoy writing?

I loved writing the character of Asrai, a strong and determined Faery who is incredibly skilful and agile. Despite being a warrior she is also very caring and develops quite a bond with Milo. I love characters that are imperfect but are strong and evolve over the course of their story. 

I also feel it is very important to build some characters that inject humour into any situation they are in. In Faery, I really went for it with a few characters who are utterly daft but very good fun and still vital to the story

It was interesting as I didn’t really feel that I wrote my main character, Milo. I think I focused more on the characters around him and he just seemed to emerge from how he interacted with him. It amazes me that some readers have told me that he is the best written character in the book.

Which of your characters would you choose to spend the holiday season with and why? 

There are two imps called, Gnulla and Crin, who you meet mid way through the book. They are the utterly daft characters I mentioned. I think the chaos they could create would be hilarious. It would probably get old quick but it would be fun to begin with.

We see such varying opinions from authors when it comes to the time of editing their books. How have you found the editing process? Enjoyable, stressful or satisfying?

Stressful and hard but necessary. It takes me several edits to get things under control, yet alone readable. But even the fun job of writing stories and creating worlds must have its downside. 

We always appreciate a beautiful book cover! How involved in the process were you? Was there a particular aesthetic you hoped they’d portray?

I was very fortunate to have crossed paths with a talented author and cover designer called Anka B. Troitsky who created my cover for me. She was brilliant and involved me in every stage of the process so I felt very in control of what was happening. 

My hope was to get a cover that recreated the atmosphere of the book; dark, mysterious, foreboding but with a definite sense of excitement and adventure. 

The world shifts, and you find yourself with an extra day on your hands during which you’re not allowed to write. How do you choose to spend the day?

 Tough question, I love to golf but never get any real time for that but I think it would have to be a day out with my family. I have a wife and two kids who definitely keep me on my toes. They are so much fun to be around and sometimes you have to just give in and join the madness that they create. It is never dull in our household. 

One of our favourite questions here on the Fantasy Hive: which fantastical creature would you ride into battle and why?

Is it cheating to pick an animal from my own book? In Faery, we meet a giant white wolfhound called the hound of Da Derga. It would have to be him, he is chillingly ferocious and knows how to make an entrance as you will see in the book

Tell us about a book you love. Any hidden gems?

The books that I always go back to in my mind is the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini. I think the world he created over the course of his books is brilliant and absorbing. 

Can you tell us a little something about your current work(s) in progress? Have you any upcoming projects which you can share?

I am currently working on the follow up to Faery: The Tiend. It’s, as yet, untitled and I don’t want to give away too much or spoil the ending of this book but it takes a little bit of a different turn from where this book leaves off. It’s still in the early stages though so lots more writing to go before book 2 hits the shelves. 

Finally, what is the one thing you hope readers take away from your writing?

Firstly, I hope they enjoy it. I hope it takes them away from the world they live in, even if it’s just for a little while. The world we live in has many problems so a little escapism is a good thing. 

Secondly, I hope people learn from Milo as a character. He is so low in confidence when we first meet him but we learn as the story goes along that he is so much stronger that he believes himself to be. 

Thank you so much for joining us today!

Thank you for taking an interest in my work, it is really appreciated!!!